Claudette Colbert was born in Saint-Mandé, Val-de-Marne, France on September 13, 1903 and was brought to the United States as a child three years later. Born Emilie Lily Claudette Chauchoin, she went to high school in New York. She was studying at the Art Students League when, in 1923, she took the name Claudette Colbert for her first Broadway role in The Wild Westcotts. Her most noteworthy stage vehicle was the The Barker in 1927. Her first film was a silent For the Love of Mike (1927), directed by Frank Capra. Made on a shoestring, the movie was a flop, and she vowed that it would be her last film role I only left Broadway when the crash came. The Depression killed the theater, and the pictures were manna from heaven. She had her first film success the next year, however, in The Lady Lies (1929).Her early notable films were all box-office hits and included Cleopatra (1934), in which she played the title role enticingly. She had her greatest triumph playing a runaway heiress, with enormous charm, opposite Clark Gable in Capras comedy It Happened One Night (1934), for which she won the Academy Award as Best Actress. By 1938 her keen ability in business made her the highest paid star in Hollywood. By 1950, though, her star had begun to wane. She returned to the stage in 1956 when she replaced Margaret Sullavan during the spring and summer in the comedy Janus. Appearances in other Broadway productions followed, including The Marriage-Go-Round. Besides the stage, she did TV specials and had a supporting role in a notable TV movie, The Two Mrs. Grenvilles (1987), for which she received a Golden Globe award. In 1989 she was presented with a Life Achievement award from the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.She married actor Norman Foster in 1928, although they never lived together and were divorced after seven years. She married surgeon Dr. Joel Pressman soon after and remained married until his death in 1968. In latter years she divided her time between an apartment in New York and a 200-year-old plantation house in Speightstown, Barbados, where she entertained such guests as Frank Sinatra and Ronald Reagan. She remained on Barbados Island after her stroke. On July 30, 1996, Claudette died in Speightstown, Barbados. She was 92.
Ellie Andrews
Film 1934
Franzi
Film 1931
Nicole De Loiselle
Film 1938
Katherine Grant
Film 1943
Kit Madden
Film 1946
Julie Kirk
Film 1933
Ellen McLean
Film 1961
Grand Duchess Tatiana Petrovna Romanov
Film 1937
Judy Jones
Film 1934
Elizabeth Hamilton
Film 1946
Joyce Roamer
Film 1929
Beatrice 'Bea' Pullman
Film 1934
Mrs. de Montespan
Film 1954
Julia Scott
Film 1935
Empress Poppaea
Film 1932
Elizabeth Rimplegar
Film 1933
Ellen Ewing
Film 1950
Cigarette
Film 1936
Barbara Clarke
Film 1937
Nora Trinell
Film 1941
Agnes Newton Keith
Film 1950
Katie Armstrong Jordan
Film 1948
Jean Oliver
Film 1929
Dr. Jane Everest
Film 1935
Jeannette Desmereau
Film 1935
Julia Traynor
Film 1931
Self (archive footage)
Film 1999
Claudette Colbert (uncredited)
Film 1932
Lydia Thorne
Film 1930
Felicia Hammond
Film 1932
Princess Nadya
Film 1933
Helen Steele
Film 1932
Sylvia Suffolk
Film 1932
Helen Blake
Film 1931
Liz Frazer
Film 1952
Ann Vaughn
Film 1930
Zaza
Film 1938
Barbara Billings
Film 1930
Sally Clark
Film 1931
Nora Shelley
Film 1949
Mary
Film 1927
Ruth Condomine
Film 1956
Elizabeth Whitefield (segment "Elisabeth")
Film 1954
Margaret Hughes
Film 1932
Self
Film 1935
Tatiana (archive footage) (uncredited)
Film 1938
Self (archive footage)
Film 1940
Self
Film 1940
Herself
Film 1942
Self (archive footage)
Film 2003
Self
Film 1938
(archive footage)
Film 1931
Self (archive footage)
Film 1997
Self
Tv 1950
Tv 1950
Lucy Bradford
Tv 1956
Self - Guest
Tv 1956
Claudette Colbert
Tv 1950
Tv 1956
Self
Tv 1953
Self - Guest Host
Tv 1953
Self
Tv 1978
Tv 1956
Beth Brayden
Tv 1956
Self - Party Host
Tv 1956
Self - Mystery Guest
Tv 1950